Meet Lanna Borom of Belle Arte in Lincoln Heights

Lanna, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today? 1979: Chuck Borom, the owner and president, started by making frames in his own garage. He then decided to travel the world selling framed art. Starting with the letter A, the adventure began in Alaska, onto Australia, then Africa.

Cut to 1989: Never made it to B… instead Chuck decided to create Belle Arte. He settled down by opening his own factory in Los Angeles and by getting married to me.

Together we created a business that we love, providing quality framing services to local artists, designers, and neighbors of Los Angeles.

We love to work with people who make art and people who love art!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome? Being in the art and framing business has definitely had its challenges. Originally, we were wholesalers only of framed art and mirrors. Then, after 2008, when the housing market crashed, no one wanted to buy art for their foreclosures.

That’s when we really opened our doors to our local photographers and artists, and to anyone who needed to frame art they had for a show, or individual pieces for their home. It was a win/win for everyone! We were able to offer better pricing as we are actually a factory and not a retail storefront.

By inviting everyone in, we could keep our employees busy and didn’t have to downsize.

Also, we got to meet the most incredible artists and friends.

Thus, we are still in business today and can still offer volume pricing to designers for their projects as well as great service for everyone!

Belle Arte – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition? Our business concept is to be a go-to framing and mirror source for local artists and designers of Los Angeles and beyond. All of our prices are wholesale for any project, budget or high-end. We’ve been in business for 30 years working with the design and hospitality industry, from local artist and galleries to national designers. With experience in doing rush jobs for galleries and art shows, we understand deadlines and we are willing to work with the unique demands of a project. We understand that framing can be intimidating so we make it an enjoyable and creative experience.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on? I have had many proud moments, but, my favorite recent one was framing an enormous canvas for Simon Birch’s 14th Factory’s opening! He is an amazing artist to work with and his pieces are stunning! -Chuck

I really felt proud when a designer asked me to come up with local art and a whole new fresh take on a hotel in Detroit. I had a blast and every image I chose was approved! I got all the artwork printed and framed and shipped out exactly when she needed it! – Lanna